Nina Marenzi
Founder & Director The Sustainable Angle
8th Future Fabric Expo in Jan 2019 to be much bigger
The Sustainable Angle is a not-for-profit organisation set up in Switzerland, which initiates and supports projects that contribute to lowering the environmental impact of industry and society, mainly in the fashion industry. Founder and director Nina Marenzi converses with Fibre2Fashion about its key project-Future Fabrics Expo, alternate fibres and innovations in sustainable textiles.
How and when did you start The Sustainable Angle?
We began The Sustainable Angle in 2010 and I started it because a platform to connect sustainable materials of suppliers, mills and innovators with the fashion industry was lacking. I created the non-profit organisation to not just focus on fabrics but to support initiatives that help reduce environmental impact. Future Fabrics Expo is our main project. We provide a lot of educational information on materials with a lower environmental footprint alongside the showcase of fabrics and leathers. All sustainable materials still require to be explained so that brands, designers and sourcing teams understand in what way these materials are more sustainable.
What were the top three innovations at this year's expo?
Our top three this year were the following:
One was a photosynthesising textile. It could generate oxygen. The textile is inoculated with algae, which is responsible for photosynthesising, and the wearer contributes to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.
The other great innovation was from Italian company VEGEA, that makes leather like material from grapes procured from the wine industry.
We also had biodegradable sequins, which were very promising. It replaces synthetic and was very future-orientated.
How many exhibitors and visitors made it to the 2018 show?
In 2018, we had about 3,000 visitors. For us, it is not about the numbers, but the quality of visitors. Since the expo is a curated showcase, up until 2018 supplier could not exhibit their materials themselves in a booth. But in 2019, a big difference is that we have 10 mills, best practice in our eyes, with their own booth along side of independent suppliers who send their fabrics. Being a curated showcase means a lot of suppliers send us their top sustainable materials and we showcase and promote it on their behalf. So we have 100-120 companies who send their fabrics and about 5,000 fabrics on display at the 2019 expo.
What kinds of advisory services do you offer?
We provide a lot of services to brands. We help their teams understand in what ways sustainable materials help them future-proof their business and move away from, for example, conventional cotton and virgin polyester. These services are for brands seeking more information on the fabrics displayed at the expo. We conduct tactile workshops or bring fabrics to brief the team at a brand's headquarters. We do that between the annual expos. We basically can bring an edited version of the expo to help companies and brands source sustainable materials but also explain the differences, what is truly sustainable and what is 'greenwashing'. We also provide direct access to material suppliers.
What is the process of gathering information?
We gather information through research; we have teams that visit companies and fairs all over the world. But we also have a lot of companies approaching us directly as they see that we are the ideal platform to showcase their products and we are the only dedicated showcase for sustainable materials.
Which future fabrics and materials will replace cotton, polyester and leather in a big way in the years to come?
We will see a lot more of cellulose in textiles, but only those sourced from sustainable forest management are genuinely sustainable, provided they come from a closed loop. We need to ensure that the materials' waste streams end up as an input for the next material. We will also see a lot of bast fibres and interesting blends i.e. flax for linens and also hemp. We see lots of interesting blends with fibres like cotton and silk. A lot of innovation is going into developing bast fibres with softer feel. Besides this, a lot of agricultural waste and food waste will also be used as raw materials for fabrics. Recycling-both pre and post consumer-is also getting more and more popular. Marine plastics recovered from the ocean are being blended with other fibres. But just recycling is not enough; it is a transition. We need to find sustainable fibres in the first place-replacements for polyester, synthetics and conventional cotton, which are truly safe and recyclable. The focus on recycling must not distract us from that.
Which brands and textile companies are leading the way in sustainable manufacturing and closing the loop?
Hallotex from Spain has a closed loop approach and is doing great work focusing only on working with responsible fibres (organic cotton, Tencel, recycled polyester, Seaqual). The Lenzing Group in Austria with their Tencel is a good one for sourcing cellulose-based fibres. Elmer & Zweifel is Germany is a good one for organic cotton wovens, Fieratex in Greece for great biodegradable polyamides and Bysshe in the United Kingdom works with bast fibres. There are innovation companies like Orange Fiber, VEGEA and Sustainable Sequins Company or Nova Kaeru with their award-winning fish leather and vegan leathers are doing some ground breaking work pushing boundaries. There is so much going on that it is hard to choose a few.
Which major brands utilise your services? Which geographies do most of your clients hail from?
It would be safe to say that a good part of the brands that you find in leading fashion magazines attend our expo, our master classes, workshops and would have booked to show them a curated collection of sustainable materials. From high street labels to start-ups, and from premium luxury to sustainable brands, we have clients from different parts of the world. Geographically, we mainly have European and a few American brands as our clients.
Which major projects are you currently supporting and how?
The 8th Future Fabric Expo is scheduled for January 24-25, 2019. It is going to be the biggest one yet and will be held in an area of 20,000 sq ft, three times the size that we have ever been. We were so packed the last time that we had to make it bigger. We will be holding our popular seminars that can accommodate 150 people, which earlier used to be just 30-50. For the first time, we will have a circle of manufacturers and certifiers as well. We have a huge Innovation Hub, where Fashion for Good, a global initiative by C&A Foundation, is cooperating with us. The Innovation Hub is much bigger than what it used to be. We have some extremely progressive and pioneering brands. In the mean time, we will be participating in the Textile Exchange Milano conference. We were also at the London Textile Fair a few months back and it was the first time sustainable materials were presented there in such a curated way. Being a non-profit, our initiatives push the fashion industry towards a more responsible future based on safer and renewable materials with lower environmental impact.
What are the top five ways for brands to communicate sustainability to consumers?
One is being as transparent and traceable as possible. There are lots of brands listed on our website doing good work and communicating effectively. Being open about sourcing practices, raw materials and processes is the key. Brands need to be genuine, authentic and creative, and that will lead to trust and loyalty from customers. (HO)
Published on: 04/10/2018
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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